Eugene Scalia, in interview, urges businesses to use loans to keep workers on payrolls, limit stress on state jobless benefits programs

Eric Morath

Sarah Chaney

WASHINGTON—The federal government will this week release funds from a coronavirus stimulus package to boost jobless benefits, but how quickly those payments reach laid-off workers depends on overburdened state unemployment systems, the head of the U.S. Labor Department said in an interview.

A record-shattering 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits two weeks ago as a result of U.S. shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. Economists forecast weekly data to be released Thursday will show another 3.1 million...

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